


Gray the Puppy

by BuckysMyBoy



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Cute Bucky Barnes, Dogs, Domestic Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Domestic Fluff, M/M, bucky and steve get a dog, grumpy steve rogers, he's really pretending though, that's really all this is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:16:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckysMyBoy/pseuds/BuckysMyBoy
Summary: Bucky finds a dog. Steve tries to say they can't keep it, but he already lost that argument before it even started.





	1. box

Cliché, overused, unoriginal, stereotypical, unbelievable, mind-blowing, angering and -

_Steve I'm gonna be home late_

\- so many other things he couldn't even think of. Bucky actually did a double take when he drove past it. Of course he's seen those boring bland cardboard boxes with the word _free_ proclaimed across it in black writing and thick letters filled with unwanted puppies in movies. But never in real life.

He had been on his normal drove home, taking the side streets until the one with the dead end and then pull out onto the main road. The pet shop was on the main road, a few minutes away from where he would pull out from the empty residential streets to the busy main roads. He had drove by the pet shop and the giant cardboard box had caught his attention.

He had turned back around to see if it was actually what he thought it was. It was dark and it could have just been litter, no way it was puppies some heartless asshole had left -

_okay see you then love you_

He got out of his car where he had pulled it over and walked over to the box. It did in fact say _free_ in big, bold, fancy block letters and when he looked inside there was one tiny puppy left curled up in a ball. Probably the runt, left behind while the bigger, healthier looking puppies were taken during the day. Yep, definitely the most cliché thing he had ever seen.

There was no way in hell he was leaving this tiny puppy out here to freeze to death. Nope. Especially not with the way the puppy was panting like crazy while it slept.

The puppy hadn't woke up when he walked up to it, so he made a small whistle sound to get its attention, and hopefully not scare it awake.

"Hey there, bud." Bucky said loud enough that the puppy's ear twitched, and it blinked up at him. The puppy's tail immidelty started smacking against the box in a wag when it saw that someone was there. It threw itself up onto all fours, and jumped up on the side of the box, not even heavy enough to tip the giant thing over.

"Aw, look at you," he smiled, bringing his human hand down into the box so the puppy could smell it before he picked it up. The small thing smelled his fingers, and happily accepted the scratch on the head. "C'mon, no need for you to stay out here any longer."

He scratched the puppies head then pet down its back. He gently wrapped his fingers around the puppies chest, and gave it a chance to squirm away before he picked it up.

He glanced inside the pet store to see if anyone was in there. He didn't really expect it because this pet shop never seemed to be open, even though it was only five o'clock. So he held the puppy close to his chest as he walked back to the car and drove to the nearest Pet Smart.

-

Steve hadn't found it suspicious at all when Bucky had texted him that he was going to be late. He had brushed it off as traffic or having to stay aittle late at work. Now, what he had found to be suspicious was Bucky knocking on the door to their apartment when he had his own set of keys.

He opened the door, fully ready to punch someone if it wasn't Bucky. What he got definitely wasn't Bucky.

"Please don't be mad at Bucky." Said the tiny gray puppy shoved close to his face, noses almost touching - well more specifically, said Bucky who was hiding behind the tiny gray puppy, and shoving it in Steve's face.

"The hell, Bucky?"

"Sorry," the puppy said, "I'm not Bucky but I'm sure he has a very good reason for bring me home."

"Oh does he now?"

"Yes." Bucky said in a normal voice, still hiding behind the cuteness of the puppy. Not that the puppy's cuteness would compare to his.

"And what is that?" Steve asked, not reaching out to pet the dog even though he wanted to see how soft it was. They did not need a dog, especially with their jobs. Not their normal nine to five jobs, they were still Avengers, even if they didn't live at the tower full time anymore. They couldn't have a dog.

Bucky brought the dog out of Steve's face where he was holding it, and brought it close to his chest. Then, he reached down with his metal arm to grab a shopping bag that had been placed by his feet.

"You're not gonna believe it, some dickhead left him in a box that said _free _on the side of the road."

Damn, Steve was really gonna have to be the asshole in this situation. "Really," he said sarcastically, ignoring the crushed look on Bucky's face, "like in the movies."

"Exactly," Bucky said loudly, still holding the puppy to his chest.

Steve couldn't lie, he really loved the image of Bucky cuddling that little puppy close to him.

"We can't keep... her, him?"

"Him." Bucky confirmed, then in a high whiny voice: "Why not?"

Steve gave him a look, "We're too busy."

"No we aren't, we -"

"Both have full time jobs, and are on-call Avengers."

"But Steve... you wanted me to leave this cute little guy out in a box freezing in the New York winter all by himself." Bucky held the puppy under the armpits again, and held him in Steve's face. The puppy wagged it's tail so hard that it's dangling body swung side to side.

The puppy was really cute. He had fluffy gray and light brown toned fur and some white patches on his paws. He had big blue eyes and pointy round ears like a German shepherd that flopped down and bent in half like a lab. He had a small round snout and a cute pink tounge that peeked out to lick everything in sight.

"No, I wasn't suggesting that. We just can't keep him forever."

"What do you want to do with him then?"

"I don't know, he can stay here tonight, and we can take him to the pound, or -"

"Absolutely not." Bucky sounded offended, "They put dogs down there."

"Or we can give him to someone."

"But I already bought puppy things." Bucky gestured to the bag on the floor.

Bucky set the puppy down -

"Not on the couch."

"Too late."

\- to show Steve the things inside the bag.

"Look, I got a chew toy," a green squeaky bone that looked about the size of the poor puppy's torso, "two bowls," just plain beige blows with blue and brown paw print desgins on the side, "and pee pads. I assumed we could go shopping for other stuff later."

"No we can't."

"Why not?"

"Bucky."

"I already bought the stuff."

"Why did you even buy two bowls, water I understand, but we don't have dog food just laying around."

Bucky's smile was the same as a guilty but mechivious kid. "Well..."

"Are you serious."

"A big bag," he said, streach his arms out to their full span, like the way a child explained that something was big. The puppy on the couch squeaked out a bark and ran in circles on the couch. "My hands were full otherwise I would have brought it up in one trip."

"I can't believe you."

"See, now we have to keep him."

"We can just give the food to the person we give him to."

"Steve." Bucky's big blue puppy dog eyes begged at him.

"No." He could feel the dog staring at him with puppy dog eyes from the couch too. "We're not keeping him."


	2. color

Bucky's human held Steve's tightly as he drug him around through the store, and had the puppy wrapped gently in his metal one. They stopped in the collar/leash section first.

"What color do you think?" Bucky asked, placing the puppy in Steve's arms, and crouching down to examine the collars.

"It doesn't matter." He said, giving the puppy's head a quick scratch when Bucky wasn't looking. They hadn't had any further conversation on what to do with the the puppy from last night when Bucky brought him home.

However, Steve knew his argument was a lost cause because Bucky had already named the puppy and declared his love for Gray this morning. Steve had lost that ridiculous argument before it started. To be honest, Steve really wanted to keep the puppy, but at the same time felt bad about leaving him at home all day - or for days at a time when they were on missions. ("I'm sure Sam will be happy to puppy sit." Bucky said that night as he set the dog right on their bed to sleep there. Steve hadn't even argued, just made a bit of room where the puppy decided to plop himself in better Steve and Bucky.)

"This is a big choice, Steve." Then, ran his fingers over all the different colors.

"He'll probably grow out of it, big dogs grow fast," Steve said. "You know this dog is going to get big, right, not be a tiny little thing forever right."

"Yes," Bucky said, "it's okay though, you use to be," Bucky held his hand facing down and flat, the way you would to compare heights with someone and pushed it down towards the floor, "small, too. Now you're big and tall."

Steve just raised his eyebrows, and held back a laugh.

"But it's still an important choice."

"Okay, how about blue?"

"Of course, let's get our dog, Gray, a blue collar. I didn't think of that."

"Then get a gray one."

"Um, absolutely not."

Steve blinked. Then, sighed. And then, just decided to let Bucky continute to look though the different colors.

They ended up with a collar with three colored stripes that faded into eachother, one blue, one white and one light green. They (Bucky) found a solid light green leash, and harness that matched the collar.

They bought a tan ("that's an ugly color." "It'll match the couches, relax.") dog bed, it was square, and had slightly raised edges. They bought it for big dogs so that when Gray did grow he would still fit in it. Steve was pretty sure that Gray grew while they were sleeping last night.

Bucky had found a checklist for things they needed, and went all around the store buying things. Filling their cart like first time parents.

Steve found himself staring affectionately at Bucky the whole time, admiring how much he cared, and how much he was throwing himself into this whole thing.

"I love you, Buck." He said once they were in the car, trunk full with new puppy stuff and Bucky had sent Gray to the backseat - which Steve had covered in a blanket, after seeing the front seat full of hair from Bucky's and Gray's drive home last night - after buckling the new collar on him. The smile he got was so wide, and genuine he wishes he had a picture of it.

"I love you back." He got a sweet, giddy, smiley kiss from Bucky.

After seeing Gray burrow himself under the blanket he placed to avoid hair all over, and roll around on his back. Steve could only think of one thing: now, he was going to have to deal with twice as much hair all over the place. He wondered who's hair he would see more of, Bucky's or Gray's.


	3. caution: wet floor

"We can't wash him outside." Bucky stared at Steve with wide eyes, "it's winter."

"It isn't snowing yet, Buck, he'll be fine."

"That's animal cruelty," Bucky pointed at Steve over dramatically. "It's freezing out there."

"What do you wanna do wash him the the kitchen sink -"

"Yes, where else?" Bucky had that stupid smirk on his face. 

Steve couldn't help but laugh. Gray was growing. Very fast. Very, very fast.

"Outside. Where he won't get water all over the floor and -"

"Water will definitely get on the floor if we wash him outside, if we wash him inside the water will be in the tub.

"You are impossible." He muttered, walking off the the bedroom to go change into a pair of shorts, or something more comfortable so he wouldn't end up with wet jeans. Gray trotted happily behind him. Bucky had laughed when Gray started following Steve whenever he left the room. He had looked at the puppy, confused, "You're Bucky's dog," he had said, but easily started enjoying the dog loving him too.

He ended up leaning over the side of the tub next to Bucky, both of them wearing similar outfits, basketball shorts, and old Tshirts.

Bucky rubbed puppy shampoo into the dirty gray and light brown fur, while Steve tried to hold the squirmy happy puppy that just wanted to play with the water in place.

Bucky got the first big splash of water to the face, it ended up all down his front and dripping on the he floor. Steve laughing at him had been cut short when Bucky scooped a cup of the soapy bath water, and pour it over Steve's head.

Steve hadn't been holding Gray with both hands at that point, giving the puppy enough room to wiggle out of the hold, and jump all over both of them. 

Needless to say, water ended up all over the floor.


	4. sam

They got called on a mission almost three months after they got Gray. It would only be a few days is what they told Sam.

"I'll keep him as long as you guys need... as long as he doesn't shit on my things."

"I told you he'd watch him." Bucky said, at the same time as Steve told Sam, "As long as you let him outside."

"Yeah, yeah, just go save the world, or whatever it is that you two do."

"Bye, Sam."

-

Gray whined two nights in a row, sitting by the front door, and looking all over the house for Bucky and Steve. 

And then, on the third night, despite Sam telling him a very firm _no_ Gray slept curled up to Sam's side and on his bed.

-

Sam sat on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table, and Gray's head laying on his lap. He scratched through the soft fur while he flipped though TV channels. He had finally got comfortable sitting down, and of course there had to be a knock on the door. He glanced over at it, not wanting to get up. He wanted to yell that it was open, but definitely wasn't dumb enough to do that. Anyone could have walked though that door. And it was locked anyways.

He nudged Gray a few times to get the lazy fucker to move his head. The puppy barely reacted, curling in tighter on himself. Probably hadn't even heard the knock because the pizza delivery guy had got a scary loud bark from such a small puppy.

He could hear Steve and Bucky before he opened the door, two of them were always talking. He swung it open, and didn't even look before turning back to sit on the couch. Gray wagged his tail when he heard Sam coming back, but didn't open his eyes. He set his head back on Sam's thigh, not even batting an eye.

"How have you two been?"

"Good," Bucky said.

"Tired," Steve supplied.

Gray wagged his tail even faster, and perked up when he heard his owners' voices.

"Then why are you two here? Go home and sleep."

"Our dog..." Bucky said, coming around the front of the couch to look at Sam. Gray's tail thumped against the couch, and he barked when he saw Bucky.

"No, he's my dog now." Sam said. "Already got the adoption papers and everything."

"I..." Bucky started, already sounding confused. Sam just laughed.

"I'm kidding, man."

Steve just chuckled and shook his head, catching Gray when he jumped off the couch to give Steve the closet thing a dog could to a hug. 


End file.
